"Anthony, Cielo, we're leaving in five minutes!" Dad called out from the bottom of the stairs. I was putting on my shoes in my room, waiting for Cielo to get out of the bathroom. We have our first day at our new school in a few minutes, and I'm feeling a random mix of emotions.
My name's Anthony, and today's my first day at Granite Hills High School. My dad recently moved me and my younger sister Cielo (pronounced "Chielo", but if you call her "Cello" be prepared to get hit by a cello) across the country to California after he got a new job. It was getting pretty hard living in New York after mom... I'm not quite comfortable talking about that yet.
I sighed deeply, lying back on my bed. It was just all so sudden. One day she was with us at the dinner table, the next Dad sat us down at the same table and told us it was "going to be just us from now on". I knew exactly what he meant, but it was so hard to believe she was actually gone. She had been sick, in and out of the hospital for months, but it wasn't until a month before she passed that we found out her cancer was terminal. She's been gone for almost eight months now, and I miss her everyday.
But back to today. I knew Mom wouldn't want me mourning over her on my first day of school, so I wiped the few tears developing and kept going when I heard the bathroom door open. Cielo came out, her hair finally done, and she stopped in front of me.
"How do I look, Anthony?" she asked as she spun around on one foot and showed me the dress she was wearing. I swear, she's only 18 months younger than me but sometimes she acts like she's 8.
"Like my little sister." She rolled her eyes and stuck her tongue out at me.
"Oh ha ha, very funny, Mr. YouTuber." Oh yeah, I also have a YouTube channel. It's nothing special really, and I only have 500 subscribers. I started it as an avenue for my stress after Mom passed away. I play a few games here and there, people watch them, and sometimes they like them so much they subscribe for more.
Cielo bounces down the hall and I brush my teeth, the last thing before I grab my bag and we leave.
The ride to school was quiet, which was something new. Dad always has something playing on the radio, but this morning he didn't. To beat the silence, I turned on my iPod and listened to music there.
Tired and lonely still we stand
On a road to nowhere
Trapped in a world of endless days,
My engine's stalling (Road to nowhere)
Body and mind are breaking down
On a road to nowhere
Destiny silent, hear no sound
As I wait forever.
Farewell, I'll miss you
I'm sick of these goodbyes
'Cause it tore us apart right from the start
I miss you
I've really grown to love this song the last few months. The lyrics really hit home for me, and although I don't listen to much metal, I love the guitar riffs. As I stare out the window, watching our new neighborhood go by, tears begin building up in my eyes, but I try to push them away with excitement. I am excited about meeting new people, and I hope everyone is cool.
"How are doing over there, Anthony?" Dad asked as he looked over at me in the passenger seat.
"Okay, I guess," I responded. Really, I was okay. Maybe it's just all these random emotions I'm feeling, but I was okay. Just... okay.
Next thing I knew, Granite Hills High School was right in front of us. It was one big brick building with a couple smaller buildings jutting out from it. The front door of the main building had a cover with the school's name across the front, and the cover being held up by marble towers. On either side of the cover was a row of pink and purple crepe myrtle trees. (A/N: If you don't know what those are, there's a picture in the sidebar.) There was a big lawn in the front, and the main building sat on top of a hill overlooking the lawn. With all the students standing out front - friends chatting, a couple girls excitedly squealing, stereotypical looking cliques of friends - this place looked like a typical TV high school.
"Okay, ready, Cello?" I ask, calling her by her hated name on purpose.
Cielo punches me on the shoulder, between the front seats. "Yeah, now I am."
Dad chuckles. "Okay, you two. Have a nice day, and don't kill each other today."
"We'll try," we both answer. Whether we mean that in terms of us having a good day or us not killing each other, that's for us to know and no one to find out.
We close the car doors as Dad drives away, leaving us to the mercy of all of our new classmates. Okay, maybe that was just an exaggeration, but still. The two of us make our way through the crowd and to the office to check in as new students.
"Ah yes, Mariani?" We nodded in unison as the receptionist flipped through a giant file cabinet. She pulled out both of our folders and handed them to us. "Here you are, and welcome to Granite Hills."
"Thank you, ma'am," I kindly thanked her as we made our way out of the office. "What do you have first?" I asked Cielo as we looked at our schedules.
"Ugh, physical science. You?"
"Math." We sighed in unison as we realized we had both of our least favorite subjects. Plus, they were on opposite ends of the school, so I couldn't look out for her like I wanted to. I know she's a big girl and she can handle herself, but it's her first day in a new school and I need to know she's okay.
The first bell rings and all the students who were outside came flooding in. We had ten minutes to make it to our classes, and in the chaos Cielo and I got separated.
"Cielo! Text me after school, okay?" I shouted over the crowd.
"Sure think, Anthony!" She responded. As soon as I turned around, I came face first with another kid my height.
"Oh, I'm sorry, bro," he apologized. He had slick black hair and was wearing a dull yellow shirt.
"No, it's my fault. I'm kinda new here."
"Oh, okay. But I have to go now, guess I'll see you around." He headed the same direction Cielo was going. So far, so good. I just hope all my meetings aren't like that.
(A/N: Hey, guys! If you're reading this, thanks for checking out this first chapter! I know this one was a little slow, but I promise I'll get to the main plot within the next couple chapters, so be on the lookout for that. Anyway, see you in the next one!)